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California beers and vegetarian fare are on tap at Tony Yanow's new venture.

For a city that bills itself as the "media capital of the world," Burbank's neighborhood bars have been slow to catch up to increasingly discerning palates. Beloved yet dingy dives serving Bud Light for a few bucks, such as Rocky's III, still outnumber slightly more upscale neighborhood pubs such as the Snug, where the Chimay flows on tap.

First-time bar owner Tony Yanow saw an opportunity to cater to new Burbank residents and nearby media industry workers, so the former CEO of music.com took over Darts Away and revamped the beer and food menu (the bar soft-opened April 12 and celebrates a grand opening May 10).

"I went out looking for a smaller project and when I walked into this bar, I just fell in love with it," says Yanow.

From the outside, it's hard to see what, exactly, the 39-year-old found enticing. Darts Away (formerly, and now once again, Tony's Darts Away) occupies a narrow sliver of space on a forlorn stretch of Magnolia Boulevard. The 1,800-square-foot room is poorly lighted with wood paneled walls. Yanow did a light remodel, but intentionally left much of the original feel: The walls are still wood-paneled (although new), an old pool table still sits in the back near a lone dartboard and the bar remains unevenly lighted, with neon beer signs at the back competing with television sets near the front.

Yet despite the lack of décor, Tony's Darts Away is a surprise hit -- attracting not only locals starved for a variety of hard-to-find California craft beers on tap, but curious vegans who have come from as far away as Santa Barbara to sample the varied menu after discovering Tony's via Twitter.